Duterte admits he's 'inutile', won't go to war vs. China over claims

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday brought up going to war with China over the West Philippine Sea dispute and said there is nothing he could do about it.

In his fifth State of the Nation Address, Duterte said the government is working to protect the Philippines' rights in the South China Sea. He added that critics claim that "nothing has been done" to "forcefully or physically" retake the South China Sea.

The Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights to the resources in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea, a part of the South China Sea.

"Alam mo, unless we are prepared to go to war, I would suggest that we better just call off and treat this as a diplomatic endeavor. China is claiming it, we are claiming it. China has the arms, we do not have it. So, it’s simple as that, they are in possession of the property," Duterte said.

Duterte has previously claimed that China is "in possession" of the South China Sea. Retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio had said China is not in possession of either the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea.

Carpio explained that parts of the South China Sea are considered "high seas" that are not owned by any state. In the high seas, all nations have the freedom of navigation and overflight, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As he claimed China is in possession, Duterte continued: "We have to go to war. And I cannot afford it. Maybe some other president can but I cannot. Inutil ako dyan, sabihin ko sa inyo, and we are willing to admit it."

"Talagang inutil ako dyan, walang magawa. I cannot... the moment I send my Marines there to the coastal shores of Palawan, tinamaan ng cruise missile lahat yan, hindi pa nga naka-set sail 'yan eh, sabog na," he said.

Carpio, a staunch advocate of the Philippines' rights in the West Philippine Sea who has lectured extensively on the topic, has always said war is not an option.
He has instead pushed for asserting the Permanent Court of Arbitration's 2016 ruling invalidating China's nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea, a decision that Beijing has continually rejected.

Duterte had set aside the ruling but said he will raise it at the right time in his presidency. -NB, GMA News